


Catfish (Tinder AU)

by propertyofpoeandbucky



Series: Bucky Barnes Series/Multi-Part Fics [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29783775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/propertyofpoeandbucky/pseuds/propertyofpoeandbucky
Summary: You’ve been single for a while and it seems like old-fashion dating isn’t working for you. You go to your last resort: Tinder. You come across this guy, James, who seems really nice, but is skeptical about meeting you in person. You’re really dying to know why.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes & You, James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/You
Series: Bucky Barnes Series/Multi-Part Fics [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189115
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

You drag yourself into your apartment with your purse and heels in hand, “Another bust?”

Your friend and roommate, Pietro Maximoff asked, “Yeah,” You mumbled as you flopped face first into the couch.

Pietro sighed and made his way to the couch. He pinched your butt, “Up.” You groaned as you sat up and rested your head on his shoulder.

You let out a sigh, “I don’t think dating is for me, P. I think I’m going to remain single my whole life and live with a bunch of cats and dogs to keep me company.”

“Or you can date me?” Pietro suggested wiggling his eyebrows at you. You giggled.

“Oh, no she won’t,” your other roommate, friend, and Pietro’s twin sister, Wanda, said as she entered the living room, “I don’t want her to go through that torture of being with you. She already has to live with you.” Wanda settled on your other side, thus putting you in the middle of the Maximoff twins.

Pietro leaned over and flicked his sister’s ear, “Respect your elders.”

You scoffed, “You’re older than her by twelve minutes!” You said flicking Pietro’s ear. Wanda wrapped her arm around you and stuck her tongue out at her brother.

Pietro frowned, “We need to get another guy to live with us.” He grunted as he stood up and walked towards the kitchen, “Why don’t you try online dating?” He suggested, his voice echoing off the walls.

“Uuuuhh no! You’ve seen the show Catfish! I’m not falling in love with some forty year old guy with some sob story!”

Wanda shrugged, “C’mon, Y/N. Just give it a shot.”

You whined, “Ugh, but I don’t wanna go through the struggle of thinking of witty things to say and finding cute pictures of me.”

“Then I’ll do it.” Wanda said with a smile.

“Fine.” You fished out your phone from your purse and handed it to her. Wanda got to work.

* * *

Nat and Steve felt sorry for their friend, Bucky. After his break up with Dot, he was showing…well…nothing. One night after a date with Dot, he just came home and simply said, “Dot broke up with me.” Then went to his room. From what they’ve seen, Bucky was showing no reaction to it. He was with Dot for two years. He’d spoken to his friends saying that she might be the one. So why wasn’t he more affected by it? 

Now, it’s been six months since the break up. Nat and Steve decided that Bucky needed to put himself out there again. Nowadays, he just locked himself in his room when he didn’t have work. 

So, one night, Nat and Steve cornered him on the couch, smooshing him in-between them, “You need to start dating again.” Nat said simply.

“What? Why?”

“To get you out of whatever funk you’re in right now.” Steve said poking his friend’s chest,

Bucky scoffed, “I’m not in a funk. I’m fine. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m going to remain single for the rest of my life.”

Nat snickered, “Ever the dramatic one.”

Bucky frowned, “I’m serious, Tash. Dot was it for me…and now she left me. For someone else!” He shot up and stomped to the kitchen. And there we have a reaction. Steve and Nat followed their friend, whom started aggressively making a bowl of cereal, “Besides, I don’t want to go through that whole process of getting to know someone again. It’s so tiring thinking of dates and shit.”

“That’s why there’s online dating. You don’t have to meet and date each other in person. You get to know each other all online whenever it’s convenient for you.”

“No thanks.” Bucky said as he lightly tossed a plastic bowl onto the counter and began to pour Honey Nut Cheerios into it.

“Buck, come on. Nat and I will help you set up your profile and everything.”

Bucky scooped some cereal into his mouth and then shook his head, “Hell no. You’re gonna make me seem like a fuckboy or something.”

“Weell-”

“Nat,” Steve said in a warning tone, “Fine. You go ahead and make up your profile. If you need help, just let us know.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Bucky waved his friends off.

* * *

Two days later, Wanda and Pietro had put your profile together and you were actually impressed. They picked 5 cute pics of you, some selfies and some of ones your friends and family had taken of you. In your bio the first thing that people would see would be “I’m here because I brought my milkshake to my yard, but no boys came.” (No lie. That’s on my tinder profile and it’s actually a hit with some guys. hahah!) Accompanied with that were some small facts about you such as what you liked to do, your personality, and one of your goals in life. After that was set up, you began to swipe right and left for those who seemed decent and some not so decent. 

You’ve been matched with a few. Some have messaged you and you messaged them back, but you felt like there wasn’t much of a connection. So you stopped. Others have matched with you, but you were too shy to start a conversation, so they just sat there. 

You were at work typing away at your desk when your phone vibrated. You quickly checked and noted that you got matched with yet another guy. You tapped on the notification and it immediately brought you to the guy’s page. James. His pictures consisted of a mirror selfie of him wearing a tight grey shirt that showed off his muscles, one of him and a dog licking his face, and then a pic of him sporting a Patriots football jersey. You had to admit that he was HOT so you were a bit shocked that you matched with him. 

You looked at his bio again and it read, “My friends made me make this. Not sure what I’m doing. I guess, if we match, then we’ll see where it goes.” 

You can tell that he was apprehensive about this whole online dating thing. That’s something you both had in common. 

Just for the hell of it you messaged him: Hey :)

* * *

When Bucky was making his profile, he really didn’t want to use his pictures. He remembered Dot saying that a bunch of her friends were on Tinder and he couldn’t face the horror of Dot knowing that he was on Tinder. So what did he do? He ended up making a fake Facebook page using Steve’s face so he could make a tinder profile. Everything that would be said would be true down to the T…it’s just his face wouldn’t match. What could go wrong?


	2. Chapter 2

Out of all the people that Bucky matched with, you were some of the few that messaged first. He liked that. That meant that people were truly interested. He messaged you back within a couple of minutes.

_James: Hey there._

_Y/N: Sorry. I’ve never done this before so I might seem a bit awkward._

_James: That’s fine. I’m new to all this as well._

_Y/N: So…do you wanna get to know each other?_

_James: Sure._

_Y/N: Ok._

_James: Ok._

Bucky proceeded to type up whatever questions came to mind: What do you like to do? What’s your favorite food? Where do you work? What did you go to school for etc. etc. After a while, you two moved passed that and started asking each other completely out of no where questions. Such as: Do you think aliens exist? How do you think we could make pigs fly? Why is Canadian bacon just sliced ham? Each of your replies brought a smile to Bucky’s face. He definitely wanted to get to know you more. 

* * *

_James: Mornin’ beautiful_

That was what you woke up to every day for the past week. It was nice. You loved the idea that you were on someone’s mind as soon as they woke up.

_Y/N: Morning handsome. ;)_

_James: What’s your day looking like?_

_Y/N: Breakfast. Shower. Work. Home. Eat. Sleep. Repeat._

_James: Why don’t you step out of your routine for once? Do something different?_

_Y/N: Like what?_

_James: Shower THEN eat breakfast._

_Y/N: Hahaha! You’re a cheeky one._

_James: ;)_

_James: I love making people laugh._

_Y/N: Well, lucky you. I love to laugh._

Ever since Bucky started messaging you, you were all he could think about. You were his first and last thought of the day. He wanted to meet you. He really did, but he was scared. He was scared of getting rejected. Scared of getting hurt again. You were so kind and pure and beautiful. Dot was like that. Now look what happened. 

_Y/N: Gosh, I really want to meet you. These pictures don’t do you justice._

Bucky sighed and then typed in his reply: _Someday._

* * *

Every time you brought on the subject of meeting James in person he’d always say “Soon”, “Someday”, or “Maybe.” Or he’ll change the subject altogether. You brought your concern to Wanda and she tried easing your mind.

“Maybe he’s exactly who he is in the picture, just maybe he’s insecure? Or he’s busy?”

“Well…he does work in Manhattan. He said he’s a professor for a community college.”

“There ya go. He’s probably waiting for a better time to meet up with you. It is midterm month after all.”

“But why wouldn’t he just say that? We’ve shared a lot of close things already, Wan. And it’s only been a month! I’ve told him my past. He’s told me some of his!”

“Okay. So what of his past has he told you?”

“Where he grew up, his family, his best friends-”

“Okay, anything about relationships?”

“Well, his girlfriend of two years broke up with him.”

“There ya go!”

“But that was like 6 or 7 months ago!”

“Y/N, it’s hard to get over someone you’ve been with for a long time. James is probably scared of getting hurt again or rejected.”

You sighed and began to play with the hem of your shirt, “I guess that makes sense.”

Wanda nodded, “Yeah. Give him time, Y/N.”

* * *

Three months. That’s how long you and Bucky, well, James were talking. From the moment you woke up ‘til you went to sleep, you were messaging each other as much as you could. James made you laugh and smile a lot. You loved a guy with a sense of humor and James definitely had it. He was also very caring, understanding, and empathetic. The pain you felt, he felt too. You were truly falling for him and you hadn’t even met yet. 

_Y/N: Can I ask you something?_

_James: You know you can ask me anything, doll. :)_

Doll. That was his nickname that he gave you. 

_Y/N: Are you a catfish?_

_James: Why would you ask something like that?_

_Y/N: You never want to video chat or meet up. You’ve only sent me pictures of you. Pictures that could be fake. I just want to know that your pictures are really you. I just want to know._

_James: My face shouldn’t matter. It should be who I am as a person that matters!_

_Y/N: So what you’re saying is that you’re not the guy in the pictures._

_James: I didn’t even say that! Now you’re just being an accusing bitch!_

_Y/N: Good-bye, James._

You stopped texting him after that. How dare he! You just wanted to know that he was being truthful to who he was and he just calls you a bitch! Nope! Looks like those three months are nothing to you now. You can’t be with someone who calls you a bitch like that. 

* * *

Bucky immediately regretted what he said as soon as he sent it. He was panicking! You both were already in too deep and telling you that he wasn’t the guy in the pictures would ruin it all. But it looks like he lost either way. He immediately started calling you, hoping you’d answer. 

_“Y/N, doll, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Call me back and I’ll explain everything.”  
_

_“Y/N, it’s me, James. I’m really sorry. I’d really like to talk to you to tell you the truth.”  
_

_“It’s me again. I don’t know how many of these I’ve left now. I fucked up because I was scared. Scared that you might end up hurting me like the last girl I was with. Looks like I hurt us both. I really like you, Y/N. If you still want…we could meet up. Just let me know. I’m sorry again…bye.”_

26 voicemails. That’s how many James left you. And you listened to all of them. Each one becoming more desperate and broken and you couldn’t help but cry a bit. You really do like James, you just wish he didn’t lash out at you like that. And now that he was offering to finally meet in person. You didn’t know if you wanted to. You were conflicted. So conflicted.

* * *

You needed a break from all this drama. So you decided to go to the coffee shop you frequented down the street. You entered the small shop and you were suddenly hit with warm and a small hint of chocolate filled the air. 

You went up to the cashier and asked for a medium hot chocolate with some marshmallows and cinnamon. You gave the cashier some bills and told them to keep the change. They thanked you with a warm smile. 

You stood by the order pick up area and just observed the people in the shop. An old married couple sat by the front door. A small group of teenagers took up one of the bigger tables and they were all focused on their school work. A pretty redhead sitting on the couch accompanied by her handsome blonde fr-wait. Your eyes widened when you realized something. You quickly whipped out your phone from your pocket and pulled up James’ tinder profile. You looked at the pictures and yup. It was him. James. Your James. Wow. He was more handsome in person.

You took a deep breath and then exhaled, “Okay, Y/N. You could do this. You’ve been talking to this guy for three months. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for.” Before you could talk yourself out of it, your feet started moving and soon enough you were standing right in front of him.

He looked up at you with his beautiful blue eyes. He smiled, “Hi.”

“H-Hi. Um, James. Wow. This is weird. You’re more handsome in person. Anyway, I’m Y/N. But you already knew that.” You stuck your hand out.

“James” took it smiling, “Uh. Hi, Y/N. This is kind of awkward because my name isn’t James.”

Your smile immediately faded, “W-What?”

“James” stood up, “Oh god. I’m sorry. I just-wow. Uh, yeah. Sorry to make you upset, but my name’s not James. It’s Steve.” Steve patted his wallet and took it out showing you his license which read Steven Grant Rogers.

You nodded, “Right. Guess I was fooled. Sorry to interrupt.”

You went to move, but Steve caught you, “I really am sorry, Y/N.”

You shook your head, your eyes starting to water, “It’s okay.” You then ran out of that shop forgetting about your hot chocolate and mentally cursing James or whoever he was for making you fall for his lies.


	3. Chapter 3

“Y/N? Isn’t that the girl Bucky was talking to?” Nat asked after you exited the coffee shop.

Steve furrowed his brows, “No that-that can’t be. If she was talking to Buck, why would she go up to me?”

“Do you think he’d use your pictures for Tinder?”

Steve shook his head, “There’s no way. He’s-He’s not that kind of person.”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

* * *

Humiliated. Foolish. Stupid. That’s how James made you feel. Of course he wasn’t the person in the photos. Of course he was lying to you the whole time. He never wanted to video chat. He never wanted to meet up. He was a fake and a phony and you couldn’t believe you wasted months on him! That’s it. No more dating for you. Ever. Obviously, it all blows up in your face. Again and Again.

“You’re a god damn idiot, you know that, Buck?!” Steve yelled at his friend, whom sat on the couch with his head in his hands.

“I know! I fucked up! I just-I didn’t want to get heartbroken again!”

Nat scoffed, “And how’d that work out for you?”

Steve gave Nat a look of disapproval and she shrugged then walked to her room, “Buck, you broke that girl. She was so upset to find out that I wasn’t you. Why in the world would you use my pictures in the first place?!”

“Dot has friends on Tinder and I didn’t want them to see me and show Dot thus making me a laughing stock!”

“Who cares what Dot thinks?”

“I do!”

“Yeah and because of that you lost your chance at love! Dot has brought nothing but pain and suffering to you, Buck. Even months after the break up. You gotta stop giving a shit about her and start thinking about yourself.”

Bucky’s shoulder’s sagged, “Yeah. Okay.” He stood up and grabbed his phone and keys off the coffee table.

“Where are you goin’?”

“To clear my head.” Bucky said before walking out the door.

* * *

You were done locking yourself in your room and crying yourself to no end. You needed to get out. So where did you go? Central Park. It was nice and big and beautiful. No matter the season, it never seized to take your breath away. You took out your phone as soon as you stepped into the park. You plugged in your earphones and began to blast your playlist of your favorite songs to help you lighten the mood. 

Fall was definitely starting to show. The trees were all shades of browns, reds, and orange. Crunchy leaves fashioned the grass and walkways. You noticed that people started to wear heavier coats and scarves. You loved fall. 

You loved the holidays that came with it and then the change from fall to winter. The last portion of the year was always your favorite because of the holidays. 

You smiled to yourself when you thought about sitting on a park bench and drinking tea while watching people pass. You should’ve gotten some tea before you came here.

* * *

Bucky regretted not bringing a thicker jacket. He was just wearing a worn out hoodie that he got in college. His eyes remained down as he entered Central Park. He focused on the sounds around him: birds chirping, idle chatter, the faint sound of laughter, dogs barking, the crunching of fallen leaves. It was all so calming. 

Despite all that, his mind always came back to you. How could he be so stupid? You were so understanding and kind. He should’ve just told you from the beginning who he really was. But his fear got the best of him. 

Bucky had found himself falling for you. It was a surprise to him because he never thought that he’d be able to have feelings for someone he never met in person. Yet he did. 

Now it was all gone. He wouldn’t be surprised if you absolutely hated him now. He hated him. 

He wish you’d just text him or call him back. At least to give him the chance to say sorry one last time.

* * *

You lightly bobbed your head to Ed Sheeran’s “Castle on the Hill”. You were too into the music that you didn’t know that a skateboarder was heading towards you and couldn’t seem to stop.

“Watch out!” He cried out, but you didn’t hear.

Bucky happened to be walking by when he heard a guy yell. He saw the guy headed towards a woman who had no idea what was about to happen. On instinct Bucky ran up to her and pulled her out of the way. The impact was too much thus causing Bucky to fall and bringing the woman down with him.

You were in slight shock about what just happened. You scrambled to your feet and ripped your earbuds out of your ears, “What the hell was that about?”

Bucky remained lying on the ground staring up at you. You. It was you. Y/N. The one he’d been talking to for months. The many times he thought about this situation in his head, he couldn’t seem to form any words.

You looked at him confused, “Helloooo? Are you okay?”

Bucky gulped and slowly stood up dusting off his pants, “Y-Yeah. S-Sorry about that. There was some kid that was on his skateboard. He couldn’t stop and if I didn’t pull you out of the way, he would’ve hit you.”

You slowly nodded, “Oh. Well, uh, thanks for that.”

“I’m James!” Bucky bursted out. 

You looked startled, “Uh. Kay. I’m Y/N.”

“Yeah, I know.” Bucky said but realized how creepy that sounded, “Wait! No! I didn’t mean for that to sound weird. It’s just-Ugh!”

You slowly started backing away, “Right. I’m just gonna g-”

“No! Y/N! It’s me! James! From online!”

Your eyes widened. You shook your head. No way. This-what? This guy was attractive! REALLY attractive? Why the hell would he use someone else’s photos? Unless he was really a creeper or something. You shook your head again and turned away, “I’m not doing this.”

Bucky’s shoulders sagged and he caught up to you, “Please, Y/N. Lemme just explain everything.”

You turned around and immediately slapped him on the face, “I don’t wanna hear shit from you! You humiliated me! You broke my heart! I gave you the chance to tell the truth and you blew up at me, James! If that’s even your real name!”

Bucky nodded, “Yeah. Okay. I deserve that, but please. Just give me 10 minutes and I can explain everything to you.”

“Why should I?”

Bucky looked at you with pleading eyes, “Because I’ve fallen for you. Even if you don’t want to give this a chance, I’ll be happy knowing you know the truth.”

You sighed, “Fine. Ten minutes.”

Bucky softly smiled, “Thank you, doll.”

Bucky explained his whole situation. He told you about Dot, making the Tinder profile, showed you pictures of him and Steve, he even showed you his license to prove that his name was actually James. 

After all of that, you felt exhausted.

“So?” Bucky looked at you with hopeful eyes.

You sat in silence going over all of the information you’d been given. You came to a conclusion, “I don’t think we should do this. Right now, at least.” You looked up to see Bucky look down in shame. You rested a hand on his shoulder, “It seems you still have a lot to figure out, James. From the looks of it, Dot still has a hold on you and she’s preventing you from being happy. From being who you truly are. So, until you figure out who you are and what you want, I don’t think it would be a good idea for this to go anywhere. It’ll just become an even bigger mess.” You looked into Bucky’s beautiful blue eyes, “I really like you, James. I do, but I don’t want to get caught up in all of this again. It’s taken a toll on me.”

Bucky nodded, “Okay.”

You stood up from the bench where you both sat at. You leaned down and kissed his cheek, “When you’ve figured things out, let me know. We can go out for some coffee or something.”

Bucky looked up at you with sad eyes, “Thank you, Y/N.”

“You’re welcome, James.”

“Bucky.”

“Huh?”

“My friends call me Bucky.”

“See you around, Bucky.”

Bucky watched as you walked down the leaf covered path. Your figure soon fading and becoming nothing


End file.
